The President of the United States tweeted Thursday morning that his administration cannot help Puerto Rico forever. This tweet is not the first time that Donald Trump belittles the situation in Puerto Rico, previously saying that they want everything done for them.
He also said that the island’s infrastructure was a disaster before Hurricane Maria and that a financial crisis of their own making looms. Trump didn’t stop with that comment, saying there is a total lack of accountability on the part of Puerto Rico’s governor.
"Puerto Rico survived the Hurricanes, now a financial crisis looms largely of their own making." says Sharyl Attkisson. A total lack of…..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 12, 2017
…accountability say the Governor. Electric and all infrastructure was disaster before hurricanes. Congress to decide how much to spend….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 12, 2017
…We cannot keep FEMA, the Military & the First Responders, who have been amazing (under the most difficult circumstances) in P.R. forever!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 12, 2017
It’s been three weeks since Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico, and most of the island is still without electricity. The death toll is now at 45 and over 100 people are still missing and unaccounted for, said Puerto Rico’s Department of Public Safety’s spokeswoman, Karixia Ortiz.
Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) sent out a tweet herself in response to Donald Trump, saying, “Puerto Ricans are Americans, and we don’t abandon each other. The federal government should stay in Puerto Rico as long as necessary.”
Elizabeth Warren, Democratic Senator of Massachusetts, also took the time to respond to the POTUS, tweeting, “Puerto Rico is still facing a humanitarian crisis. @realDonaldTrump seems more worried about blaming hurricane victims than helping them.”
San Juan’s mayor, who’s publicly shown her disapproval of Donald Trump, replied to his comments by saying, “@POTUS It is not that you do not get it; you are incapable of fulfilling the moral imperative to help the people of PR. Shame on you!”
Meanwhile, Republican Rep. Scott Perry of Pennsylvania told CNN’s Chris Cuomo that there is only so much the United States can do to help Puerto Rico. He continued by saying, “I lived through it myself, a victim of floods on numerous occasions, had to clean it up, and I will tell you, nobody came to help us, we handled it ourselves.”
But perhaps the most neutral point of view and the one who said it best is Sarah Sanders, the White House press secretary, who reinforced aid for Puerto Rico. “Our job in any disaster affected location is to help the community respond and recover from that disaster,” she said.
“We continue to do so with the full force of the U.S. government and its resources in Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands and other affected areas,” she continued. “Successful recoveries do not last forever; they should be as swift as possible to help people resume their normal lives.”
While she does have a point, it’s unfortunate that the Trump administration has been everything but swift about Puerto Rico’s aid relief. Three weeks into the disaster and many still don’t know how much longer they’ll be in this situation, all the while Trump tweets, comfortably from the oval office.
Article inspired by TIME//Donald Trump: U.S. Can’t Help Hurricane-Ravaged Puerto Rico ‘Forever’